Sunday Gravy: Sign me up for Syndergaard in Game 7

Published 6:04 pm, Saturday, October 31, 2015

Photo: Peter Morgan — The Associated Press

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New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard throws during the first inning of Game 3 of the World Series Friday night against the Kansas City Royals in Queens. Register sports columnist Chip Malafronte says regardless of your feelings about the first pitch of Game 3, you can’t argue that it was a gutsy decision for a 23-year-old rookie to make. less

New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard throws during the first inning of Game 3 of the World Series Friday night against the Kansas City Royals in Queens. Register sports columnist Chip Malafronte says ... more

Photo: Peter Morgan — The Associated Press

Sunday Gravy: Sign me up for Syndergaard in Game 7

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I consider myself a political independent, but recently realized I have much in common with the current crop of Republican presidential candidates. We both blame our problems on the media.

• Noah Syndergaard opened Game 3 by whizzing a message pitch past the head of the first World Series batter he faced, singled just before Curtis Granderson’s go-ahead home run and recovered from a disastrous two innings to not allow another Royals run over the next four.

Not only did he finally silence what had been a relentless Royal lineup to vault the fading Mets back into the series, he effectively got inside the opponents’ head.

Need we remind you he’s a 23-year-old rookie? The possibility of Thor on the mound in Kansas City for Game 7 has legendary potential.

• Syndergaard’s decision to go high and tight on the first pitch is open to interpretation. It’s stupid because he’s clearly not going to do it again, so why not dig in and get comfortable? Then again, it’s brilliant because angry is hardly the best approach when facing a pitcher with stuff that filthy.

One thing that can’t be argued — it was a gutsy decision.

• Who is going to beat the Patriots this season? Seriously. New England’s remaining opponents look a lot like UConn’s early-season basketball schedule. It’s no one’s fault. There’s just a huge disparity between the NFL’s haves and the have-nots.

Denver is undefeated. But Peyton Manning couldn’t beat Tom Brady even before his throwing arm became 25 inches of string cheese. They’ve got the Giants and Jets, both in New York, and neither defense is remotely capable of handling New England’s machine.

Nine games remain, plenty of time for a Patriot defensive hiccup or an opponent to derive and execute a perfect game. Aside from a major injury or two, it doesn’t look promising.

• If East Haven native and longtime Penn football coach Al Bagnoli ever second-guessed his decision to unretire to take over sad-sack Columbia, Saturday’s win at the Yale Bowl likely made his year. The game-sealing touchdown came off a fake field goal, option pitch to the kicker, which snapped a three-year Ivy League losing streak for the Lions.

• Alex Rodriguez: liar, cheater, narcissist...decent baseball analyst? Where Cal Ripken was remarkably unprepared and Harold Reynolds has no ‘off’ button, A-Rod is prepared, articulate and, given his first-hand knowledge of pitchers and ballparks, informative and interesting. Fox surely hired him to help ratings, but may have unlocked his post-baseball calling.

• Speaking of serial liars in the Fox broadcast booth...Pete Rose brings little to the table. You know he accepted the job knowing any exposure helps his Las Vegas autograph business. And, it goes without saying, he’ll find any excuse to get under the skin of the MLB commissioner.

• Nice to see Jason Pierre-Paul might be able to salvage his career after a horrific Independence Day accident. If you haven’t seen photographs of the Giants defensive end’s mangled hand, which hit news wires a couple days ago, consider yourself lucky. They aren’t for the faint of heart. Adults and kids of the world, please, never play with fireworks.

• Bill Belichick is the guy in your neighborhood who turns all the lights off at his house on Halloween. And Pete Carroll is the one giving out full-size candy bars.

• Royals pitcher (and former Princeton basketball player) Chris Young hadn’t thrown a pitch clocked at 90 mph since 2009. During his brilliant three-inning relief stint in Game 1, he did it eight times. Guess there’s something to be said for being amped up in the World Series. Either that or the radar gun used that night needs to be recalibrated.

• There were quite a few memorable moments in Game 3, but none cooler than the sound of 44,000 Met fans serenading Billy Joel with “Piano Man.”

• Stratford’s Mike Donnelly made his coaching debut with defending Division II basketball champion Florida Southern on Friday night. The opponent? Defending Division I champion Duke. Coach K and the Blue Devils rolled to a 112-68 exhibition victory before a packed house at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Better results are ahead for Donnelly, who swiftly turned Southern Connecticut State into a power before moving on to bigger things. But probably not for at least another week. Florida Southern has another exhibition next Sunday at Syracuse.

• Temple, which nearly eliminated its football program 10 years ago, cracked the Top 25 and played host to Notre Dame on Saturday night. They can thank a couple of Connecticut guys for helping turn their fortunes around. Ex-coach Steve Addazio recruited most of the current roster before bolting to Boston College, while linebacker Tyler Matakevich, a Stratford resident destined to play in the NFL, is on pace for his fourth successive 100-tackle season.

• In theory, the surprising results of the AAC on the gridiron this fall should only help UConn on the recruiting trail.

• The Huskies still have a shot at a bowl game, but will need to beat Tulane next Saturday, and then stun either Houston or Temple to qualify.

• The concept of instant replay to assist umpires makes sense. Yet the execution leaves something to be desired. Close plays that appear inconclusive on replay — David Wright’s stolen base in Game 1 comes to mind — are still being overturned. Replay should be based on indisputable evidence, not general estimation.

• So I’ve just about polished off all of the leftover Halloween candy and come to a bold conclusion. The best of the best is clearly the 100 Grand, formerly known as the $100,000 bar. Why the marketing change, though? Did people think the name was also the price?

And the worst, as always, is the Tootsie Roll. We’re still not convinced these things aren’t made with scrapings from the underside of elementary school desks.